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Article Courtesy of Channel
27 WTXL
By Brieanna Smith
Published May 29, 2026
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NORTHEAST TALLAHASSEE — The Killearn Lakes Plantation Homeowners’ Association is
postponing a proposed dues increase after a plan to raise annual dues from $120
to $250 and $268 for lakefront owners. The proposed increase sparked concerns
from neighbors in this community.
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In a notice to residents on May 14, the
Board of Directors said the scheduled adjustment is
“deferred until further notice” and that a “revised
implementation timeline” is being “finalized.”
This deferment sparked by a voting process that many
homeowners say, “went off the rails.”
Homeowner Ted Phillips says during one of those meetings,
the board mismanaged proxies, or votes assigned to a present
homeowner on behalf of those unable to attend.
“I made an announcement and told everybody, ‘If you want to
vote ‘no’ with your proxy, do not give it to these people.
They're automatically counting every proxy they collect as a
‘yes’ vote,” he said. “That's when the crowd got angry and
loud.”
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Since then, he says he’s lost the trust in the board – on top of dealing
with covenant enforcement – some which, he says, requires residents to not
have trash cans or A/C units visible from the road.
“I
don't trust anything they do or say. The whole board needs to go, and we need to
replace them with honest people and put some people in there that are going to
be transparent and are going to be frugal with our money,” he said.
Though, Phillips says he isn’t opposed to only a slight increase.
According to letters the HOA sent out to homeowners, increased dues would pay
for an additional code enforcement employee, lake and park maintenance and the
upkeep of green space.
It would also help them prepare for what they call “inevitable repairs” on the
dams, spillways and control valves for its five lakes.
The board cited inflation and limited revenue sources like dues and estoppel
fees, saying its revenues “remain flat” and that the increase necessary to
“sustain financial stability.”
Mark Reichert, a former board president who has lived in the area for 42 years,
says the last dues increase was 20 years ago in 2005.
He says the community has lost multiple programs since then — part of the reason
he supports an increase.
"You can't run an organization the size of a small city on a budget that has
been flat for 21 years,” he said. “That's not sustainable, and you know, just
since 2005, the consumer price increase has gone up 64%, so how have we managed
over the years? We've cut services.”
He adds that he also values his property value.
“I want my property to increase the value. If this neighborhood starts falling
apart, that's not going to happen," Reichert said.
The controversy behind a rise in annual dues led to the resignation of the
board's most recent president.
Interim President Richard P. Massa, Jr. says the first step to addressing the
issue is owning the board’s mistakes and finding a better way to communicate
with homeowners.
"We did notice that there was a certain population of individuals that felt that
they didn't have enough information, and that's a problem, so we want to be able
to address that," Massa said.
As far as a mismanagement of proxies, he says can’t recall what the past
president said about how the proxies would be handled.
Moving forward, there will be another monthly meeting in June.
Massa says it will act as a forum where residents can ask questions and voice
concerns, but the dues increase won’t be a formal item on the agenda.
He says he asked an attorney to be present at that meeting to make sure they’re
operating correctly.
“That's where forgiveness comes in, so we're hoping by the actions that we're
taking as a board to earn that trust, if they want to throw that word around,
being transparent and having an open dialogue,” Massa said.
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